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Is it true that “anything we can actually do we can afford”? — Simon Wren-Lewis

Summary:
Simon Wren-Lewis is not yet an MMT convert but moving closer. He is still clinging to the illusion of monetary policy effectiveness and in this piece he does not address the MMT critique of monetary policy. Moreover, he thinks that a floating rate system requires monetary policy rather than freeing the need for it as under a fixed rate convertible system in which interest rate policy addresses demand for conversion. His answer to the question, Is it true that "anything we can actually do we can afford”?, is sort of. That is, yes, with qualifiers. MMT would agree with this although there might be some disagreement over the qualifiers. But the take-away is his agreement with MMT that the state does have a "magic money tree," and the constraint is inflation.While Simon Wren-Lewis doesn't

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 Simon Wren-Lewis is not yet an MMT convert but moving closer. He is still clinging to the illusion of monetary policy effectiveness and in this piece he does not address the MMT critique of monetary policy. Moreover, he thinks that a floating rate system requires monetary policy rather than freeing the need for it as under a fixed rate convertible system in which interest rate policy addresses demand for conversion. 

His answer to the question, Is it true that "anything we can actually do we can afford”?, is sort of. That is, yes, with qualifiers. MMT would agree with this although there might be some disagreement over the qualifiers. 

But the take-away is his agreement with MMT that the state does have a "magic money tree," and the constraint is inflation.

While Simon Wren-Lewis doesn't mention it, and in fact, he assumes that central banks have the knowledge and tools they need, the issue then becomes a testable theory of inflation and how to control price stability. But is it so? Former Fed governor Daniel Tarullo wrote a paper questioning this.

Anyway, worth a read.

Mainly Macro
Is it true that "anything we can actually do we can afford”?
Simon Wren-Lewis | Emeritus Professor of Economics, Oxford University
Mike Norman
Mike Norman is an economist and veteran trader whose career has spanned over 30 years on Wall Street. He is a former member and trader on the CME, NYMEX, COMEX and NYFE and he managed money for one of the largest hedge funds and ran a prop trading desk for Credit Suisse.

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